Bree Hodge lifted the drape of the curtain to the living room window to the side so that she could confirm the fact that Orson was officially leaving for the weekend. After several long-suffering weeks, Orson was unknowingly giving her a reprieve. The problems in their marriage had existed for months, politely ignored by both parties for appearances sake. The truth of the matter was, that their marriage officially ended when Orson went to jail for the crime of hitting Mike Delfino with his car. He offered to go to jail and make things right, after months of begging and pleading by Bree. Whether he did it for love or civic duty, he went to prison. When he returned to Fairview, things were never the same again.

Bree had gone through several changes while Orson was away. Once a man that she thought she could lean on, Bree discovered that she had no one else in her life to turn to – except alcohol. Bree always loved her wine, whether it was an intimate dinner party at home, an after dinner night-cap, an evening at a fancy restaurant, or a private glass in a lonely room, Bree had come to rely on the liquid to keep her going. Orson's departure left a void in her life that needed to be filled. Drinking seemed to be the easiest and most convenient solution. Bree willingly threw years of sobriety out the window in exchange for the cool and temporary relief that alcohol brought her.

It started with one glass of champagne at Orson's going away party. It was done in secret, away from the prying eyes of friends and family that came to wish Orson farewell. The cool sensation that Bree felt when her lips touched the rim of the glass brought her back to her happy years with Rex Van De Kamp, her first husband, when she was able to share a glass of wine with him and unwind at the end of a long day. His death triggered her worst alcoholic binge. Her world fell apart before her very eyes and it seemed that there was no escape.

When Bree first met Orson, at a psychiatric hospital, he seemed like a breath of fresh air, a way to escape her loneliness. They quickly started courting and eventually he asked her to marry him, and she didn't hesitate to say yes. It was after saying 'I do' that Bree discovered that Orson was a mysterious man with several skeletons in his closet that were yet to be revealed. In hindsight, she regretted marrying him so quickly, without getting to know him better, getting to know herself better.

Several years later, appearances were the one thing that kept Orson and Bree together when all of the signs were pointing them in another direction. Rather than settle for alcohol as her coping mechanism, she turned to her work – her catering business – her pride and joy. It was the catering business that pulled her out of dependency; it filled the void that Orson left. Bree flourished with her business and expanded it to an empire, writing her very own cookbook and making media appearances. She was honored for her success by the town of Fairview with a prestigious business award. Everyone praised Bree for her accomplishments – everyone except Orson. Bree knew that he resented her success, her late nights at work, the attention being bestowed onto her by her peers. He asked her for a position in the company when he was no longer able to keep his dentistry practice open and Bree agreed, but it didn't solve their troubles. Bree tried to convince herself that it was no big deal, that it was merely male ego that kept Orson so distant; she didn't want to admit that they had grown apart, and that he would never be happy with her success.

Their relationship became further strained when Orson began stealing little objects from the neighbors in an effort to get attention. Bree was quick to pick up the pieces to protect herself and the unsuspecting neighbors, but one day, Orson had gone too far and was caught. Rose Kemper was a feisty elderly lady on Wisteria Lane and when she saw a masked man break into her home she went after him. Attacking him with a bat, he darted outside into the street, getting into the path of neighbor Edie Brit. Edie attempted to dodge Orson and crashed into an electrical pole in the process. Stepping out of her car, she was electrocuted and died on the spot. Orson was brought to the hospital and when Bree overheard what Rose had done, she put the pieces together and decided that enough was enough.

Bree wanted the divorce to be pleasant, not only for appearances but for Orson's wellbeing. It didn't take Bree long to find out that a pleasant divorce wouldn't be possible if she wanted to keep her company in her hands. Living in a community property state, since the company was founded while she was married to Orson, half of it, and all of her earnings, would go to him in a divorce settlement. Bree refused to take the news lying down and sought an alternative option.

With her son Andrew on her side, Bree went to the best attorney that she could find – Karl Mayer, the ex-husband of one of her best friends Susan Mayer. Karl was a shark, deemed so by his wife, and he promised her results as long as she would cooperate with him. Bree assured him that she was on board with the divorce and was willing to do whatever she needed to do to keep her company away from her husband. Their game plan currently consisted of creative accounting with the company which consisted of a second set of books, to make the company seem less lucrative than it was, and secret bank accounts to stash hidden funds from Orson.

Six months ago, Bree would have never considered embezzling from her own company to protect it from her husband. She had always considered herself to be a good person. But, as she told her first attorney Walter Bergen, she liked being a rich person even more, and that meant playing by her own rules, and getting involved with a man that she would have never glanced at otherwise.

Karl Mayer had a very long, scintillating history on Wisteria Lane that involved several of the housewives. It started when Karl married Susan several years ago. After being together for over ten years, Karl left her for his secretary. As Susan's best friend, Bree heard all of the details, in the bedroom and boardroom. Susan and Karl were to share custody of their daughter Julie together, with primary custody belonging to Susan, which kept Karl in the neighborhood after the separation. While they were divorced, Karl got involved with Susan's nemesis and the street's resident bad girl Edie Brit. It was difficult to keep secrets living on the same street, and Karl and Edie seemed to delight in torturing Susan with the news of their relationship. They went so far as to get engaged, only to have Karl break it off, leaving town. He returned several years later with a new son that he had with his former girlfriend, Evan, who was the same age as the son that Susan and Mike Delfino had together, MJ.

Susan Mayer had had a crush on sexy plumber Mike Delfino since he moved to the neighborhood. His mysterious past and her relationship with Karl kept them from getting together but when they did, they were blissfully happy. After several ups and downs they were married and had their son. Yet the happiness was not meant to last; a few years into their marriage, they were in a horrible car accident with another woman and her daughter – they both died as a result. Susan wasn't the same since the accident, blaming herself for the death of two innocent people. She grew apart from Mike and they eventually found themselves divorced and sharing custody of their son.

Bree stole another look out the window. The neighborhood had changed before her very eyes, and she was finding herself changing with it. Bree was now willing to forgo appearances and live independently, on her own, without a man. She married Rex in college, and spent her entire life with him, and moved onto Orson soon after. Bree was finally ready to be single and to create a new image for herself, as a successful single businesswoman with no one to answer to but herself.

Bree walked to the other side of the room and reached for her most recent photo-album. Bree had several different books of photographs, enjoying the pleasure of capturing various moments and remembering them later. This book was filled with her and Orson. Bree escaped to the third half of the book, which was blank. It resembled the fresh start that she was making for herself, the one thing that no one could take away from her. And a break from Orson was the perfect way to start it off.